Call: Towards a robust and comprehensive greenhouse gas verification system

This Subprogramme aims to achieve a resource- and water-efficient economoy and society that is also resilient to climate change. Furthermore, it seeks to promote the protection and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems. Lastly, the Programme also supports the sustainable supply and use of raw materials, in order to meet the needs of a growing global population within the sustainable limits of the planet's natural resources and eco-systems.

The call Greening the economy consists of 29 topics addressing the priority areas of climate services, moving towards a low-carbon Europe, nature-based solutions for territorial resilience, water, raw materials, Earth observation and cultural heritage forsustainable growth. All activities funded under this call should as far as possible use data resulting from or made available through different initiatives of the European Commission. The innovative element is the opportunity to use the tools Pilot on Open Research Data which aims to improve and maximise access to and re-use of research data generated by projects OR  Data Management Plans (DMPs) detailing what data the project will generate, whether and how it will be exploited or made accessible for verification and re-use, and how it will be curated and preserved.

Specific topics for the calls:

• Exploiting the added value of climate services
• Integrated European regional modelling and climate prediction system
• Climate services market research
• Towards a robust and comprehensive greenhouse gas verification system
• A 1.5 million year look into the past for improving climate predictions
• Pathways towards the decarbonisation and resilience of the European economy in the timeframe 2030-2050 and beyond
• Coordinating and supporting research and innovation actions on the decarbonisation of the EU economy
• Large-scale demonstrators on nature-based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk reduction
• Operationalising insurance value of ecosystems
• Multi-stakeholder dialogue platform to promote innovation with nature to address societal challenges
• Supporting international cooperation activities on water
• Novel in-situ observation systems
• Coordination of citizens' observatories initiatives
• European data hub of the GEOSS information system
• Cultural heritage as a driver for sustainable growth
• Innovative financing, business and governance models for adaptive re-use of cultural heritage
• Support to confirmed Presidency events (conferences) – Malta, United Kingdom, Estonia
• Support to confirmed Presidency event (conference) in Slovakia
• Macro-economic and societal benefits from creating new markets in a circular economy
• Pre-commercial procurement on soil decontamination
• Preparing for pre-commercial procurement (PCP) and/or public procurement of innovative solutions (PPI) in support of climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials
• Transformations to sustainability
• Framework Partnership Agreement supporting Joint Actions towards a sustainable green economy in Europe and beyond

According the IPCC's 5th Assessment Report, atmospheric concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800 000 years. CO2 alone has increased by 40% since pre-industrial times, primarily from fossil fuel emissions and also from net land use change emissions. Trust in any international agreement under UNFCCC aimed at limiting global warming will depend on our ability to make accurate estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as provision of mitigation services allowing robust reporting and verification against independent data and analyses.

However, a better understanding of the carbon and nitrogen cycle in the earth-climate system remains one of the key knowledge gaps. It is therefore essential that we increase our capability to identify more accurately the stocks and fluxes of these important greenhouse gases and at the same time develop methods and technologies that will enable us within the next five to ten years to accurately estimate and also verify CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions from key sources.

At least three legal entities. Each of the three must be established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country. All three legal entities must be independent of each other. 

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU in the range of 10 million € would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts. 

Funding rate: max. 100%